The exterior of Quinta da Regaleira bristles with limestone carvings, heavy gothic pinnacles, and gargoyles that make the villa look like a jagged crown set into the Sintra hillside. Luigi Manini designed this estate for Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, a wealthy eccentric who obsessed over alchemy, masonry, and the Knights Templar. Monteiro poured his fortune into these grounds to create a private theater of initiation. He even kept a pet alligator in the garden pond to guard the mysterious underground stone tunnels.
Quinta da Regaleira
historic
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